Friend
by Xeen Cyr
Summary: a scene at the lab


**FRINGE**

**Friend**

_No inFRiNGEment intended_

_Note: nothing fancy, Bolivia heavy, no episode related._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Are you okay?"

He was supposed to be the one with big functional brains, why couldn't he come up with something a bit more eloquent? Should he have saved a penny for each time he asked her the same thing, he would be a millionaire by now.

She gave him a side glance and managed a faint smile. She was pale and weary and obviously exhausted.

"I'll be all right, don't worry."

He had to stop himself from reaching out to her, from taking her in his arms and just holding her, as any friend would do.

Was he his friend? Was he more than a friend? Or just a colleague?

Obviously, she considered him a great asset to the team, she needed him to understand Walter's experiments, and she enjoyed working alongside the Bishops.

But it didn't mean anything.

He was feeling more frustrated by the minute.

"You sure?" he insisted.

So much for being the resident genius.

She nodded absently, smoothed her hair with her hand like she always did when she was challenged by a case or simply could not take anymore of all that crap they had to deal with on daily basis.

"What about a drink?"

As if she needed a drink. What she needed was someone to confide in, a lot of sleep and some vacations.

"What about it?" she smiled again, more hesitantly this time.

He shrugged. "Well, your call I guess. I thought we could use some time off and just enjoy the moment."

"We?"

"I mean, you can use my shoulder if you want to, or I can fill your glass or…"

"I don't need a drink," she cut him abruptly and turned her back on him. She scooped to the bench and retrieved a file.

He could feel tension radiating from her body. With any other girl, --woman, he would have tried the Bishop manoeuvre. With Olivia, he was at a total loss. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Astrid who was kind of waving desperately in his direction. She nodded and pointed to Olivia with an urgent stare.

"Go, for god's sake! What are you waiting for? Help her, she needs you, Peter," she mouthed silently.

He froze. Was he that transparent?

When was the last time he had an articulate conversation with Astrid apart from asking her for a syringe, some saline or a cheese steak? He shrugged back and nodded to Olivia's back with an interrogative face.

"You sure?" he mouthed back.

"She's your friend!" she said silently then turned away from him with an angry glance.

Walter scurried to Astrid, carrying a bundle of spreadsheets. He whispered something in her ear with his eyes on his son and she shrugged, glancing to Peter angrily again. Walter placed the spreadsheets carefully on an unsteady pile of files and took a pen from his pocket. He scribbled something on a note book, tore the page off, folded up into a summary plane and sent it to his son. Without another glance, he took Astrid by the elbow.

"Did I ever show you my new calibrating device?" he said very loudly before they disappeared in the back of the lab.

Peter picked up the paper, read the note and frowned. He locked his eyes on Olivia's back. She was shaking now, maybe even crying. He could see that much from where he stood. He extended his arms, hesitated again and placed a hand on her shoulder. She straightened at the touch and wiped her eyes hastily.

So she was crying.

He turned her around and stared blankly. She did not try to hide that she was indeed crying. The tears were welling up in her eyes and running down her cheeks and her mouth was twitched into a childlike grimace. She bit her lower lip and locked her eyes on his.

"Told you, I'm not having this drink. Not tonight. I've been drinking a lot lately and look where it took me. I'm a mess."

"I don't think you can blame it on alcohol Liv," he smiled.

"Yep. It's just a way to tell you to leave me alone," she prompted, shrugging away from his hand.

"That can't do," he insisted, bringing her closer to him.

"I'll manage, I'm a big girl," she breathed in his neck.

He hugged her tightly, his lips brushing the top of her head.

"But for now, I've got you and you're not going anywhere."

She gave in instantly and they waited together for her tears to subside.

-o-

_Well, who said corny?_


End file.
